Fall in Umbria

And the days go flying by. The searing summer heat is gone,
replaced by a chill wind and a few thunderstorms. A tougher skinned, hardier tomato has replaced the sun warmed summer
tomato, but no one really is thinking much about tomatoes now. The first of the
fall artichokes showed up at last week’s market, along with the first ‘cachi’
or soft persimmons. We have marvelous leeks in the orto, and we’re waiting for
a batch of rucola to sprout. We need more rain if we are going to have a good truffle harvest. Most everyone's grapes are in, and it will be another few weeks before olives can be picked.

The mono diet continues. Last week we ‘processed’ a large
amount of grapes, but I’ll save that story for another day. Tomorrow I work on a crate of lemons,
hand delivered by Joni and Carl, all the way from Positano.

It’s the fall festa season and time for the debate: Shall we
go to Morra for chestnuts? Apecchio for truffles? Citerna for funghi? Trevi for
black celery? We meet our cheese maker friend, Francesco, up in Apecchio, and
then run into his sheep on the way home.

The light is softer now, the shadows deeper and cooler.
Sunday lunch was as if we were living in a painting. After a few weeks of much
loved guests visiting us, everyone has gone home, and the house seems so quiet.
But our Festa del Bosco is right around the corner, so I’m savoring the calm.